1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to an automated emergency response method, and associated system.
2. Description of Related Art
Providers of emergency services in North America such as fire, police, and rescue departments are assisted in providing emergency services by the introduction of the 911 emergency number. In the event of a crime in progress, fire, smoke, explosion, hazardous spill, toxic leak, releases of flammable or toxic materials, acts of nature which potentially endanger the lives of humans or animals in the buildings, terrorism-related incidents, national pandemics, or the like, a typical emergency dispatch operator asks for information about the location of the caller, the type of emergency, whether anyone is injured, and miscellaneous questions related to the incident, such as name and other identifiable information for follow-up. The emergency dispatch operator may then provide a series of advice or procedure steps to the caller to help the caller. For each type of emergency, a specific set of steps are ordered to the caller to deal with the emergency, as indicated, for example, in the Emergency Medical Dispatch Guidecards of the State of New Jersey (http://www.state.nj.us/health/ems/documents/nj_emd.pdf), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
For example, the emergency dispatch operator may ask a series of questions such as “Is this a medical emergency?,” “Are you having difficulty breathing?,” and/or “Are you experiencing severe pain or pressure in your chest?.” In general, in the related art, the emergency dispatch operator uses an emergency handbook that contains all the questions that need to be asked to respond to a particular situation. Such a handbook is typically similar to a large notebook with a number of tabs of different colors, each color corresponding to a specific type of emergency, such as the ones described above. Accordingly, during a typical emergency 911 call, the emergency dispatch operator flips back and forth through the handbook, trying to find the procedure that is most applicable to the emergency at hand. Such physical back-and-forth flip of the handbook to find the adequate portions of the handbook can be time consuming, especially since a caller is waiting to be helped out of a potentially life-threatening situation. Furthermore, the emergency dispatch operator may also pull the wrong tab on the handbook and relay instructions to the caller that are irrelevant to the emergency at hand.
During the late 1970's and early 1980's, Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) protocols were developed to provide the dispatcher with medically sound and clinically based direction. The American Society For Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the National Association of Emergency Medical Services Physicians (NAEMSP) developed national voluntary practice standards for EMD.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) used those voluntary practice standards to develop the: EMERGENCY MEDICAL DISPATCH: NATIONAL STANDARD CURRICULUM. [National Curriculum]. A standard set of questioning protocols were designed to guide the emergency medical dispatcher in proper caller questioning technique. These questioning protocols were called Emergency Medical Dispatch Protocol Reference System [EMPDPRS]. One such system is the Emergency Medical Dispatch Guidecards mentioned above. The EMDPRS allows the dispatcher to consistently and accurately:
identify the level of need,
identify situations that require pre-arrival instructions,
gather information that should be relayed to responding personnel and,
gather scene safety information in the same manner every time.
In cases of serious medical emergencies, the Dispatcher is a true “first responder” by providing early treatment prior to the arrival of dispatched medical resources.
The National Standard Curriculum requires an EMDPRS to adhere to all known standards; local, national, ASTM, NAEMSP and other professional organizations. Some of the key MINIMUM requirements of an EMDPRS:
a “written” system of “cards” that can be used by the EMD;
EMDs need a written, consistent protocol.
EMDs need to have a protocol that they can have, on hand, to read to callers. This can be a hard copy. The protocols need to be written consistently in terms of structure, reading level, fonts, etc. The protocols must be color coded as established by NHTSA.
Specific training must be given to all operators. This training is established and standardized as set forth in the EMD Instructors Guide developed by NHTSA found at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/ems/EMDMngrsGuide/EMDDManagersGuide1stpart.pdf and http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/peopl/injury/ems/EMDMngrsGuide/EMD--Manager's%20Guide--Appendix.pdf. These Guides are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Changes in protocols should be made when it is determined to be in the best interest of the system and an improvement in protocol accuracy, specificity and patient care issues. Changes are also made when new information becomes available that protocols out-of-date when compared to current medical science. These changes are difficult to implement country wide in a hard copy card system or even in standalone computer duplications of a card system.
In cases of emergency, time is critical to the survival of the person experiencing the emergency. Therefore, among other things, a suitable method to increase operator efficiency and reduce processing time of the emergency call is necessary to increase the chances of survival of the person experiencing the emergency.
Another difficulty in a “card” system is the chance of error in a question posing situation such as the one shown in FIG. 5A. This is an example of a guidecard used when the operator is asking the questions of the caller. As is apparent, it is impossible to put all questions on a single card. The operator must flip between cards. As long as the situation flows smoothly, the operator stays in the normal sequence of the cards. However, if the caller answers “no” to the question of “Did the chest rise?”, then the operator must quickly flip to the appropriate cards for adult choking, in this example, and not the cards for infant choking or child choking.